The Department of Political Sciences students will present their Spring 2026 Capstone projects in conjunction with the Dr. Rae Linda Brown Undergraduate Research and Creative Projects Showcase.
May 8th, 2026
Anderson University Center
Ingram Lobby and University Gallery
For more information regarding the showcase and the schedule, please visit the Undergraduate Research and Creative Projects Showcase website.
Please select each student’s name below to see their project name and information.
The Right to Bear Arms, or the Power to Exclude?
Faculty Mentors: Maria Chávez, Political Science; Fred Hardyway, History
Major: Political Science
This project analyzes how racially motivated gun laws from the 1800s to the 1960s shape modern conservative claims about the Second Amendment as race-neutral. Using Critical Race Theory, the White Racial Frame, and discourse analysis, it reveals how contemporary legal and NRA rhetoric reshapes racialized gun rights to be race-neutral through language and historical omission.
Poster Presentation
Political Polarization and Health Care Access
Faculty Mentors: Maria Chávez, Political Science; Fred Hardyway, History
Major: Political Science
A research project examining how increased political polarization in the U.S. has shaped Americans’ access to health care through state Medicaid programs in states with different political cultures. I hypothesize that polarization intensifies state political cultures that structure Medicaid policy decisions, generating geographic health care inequity across states.
Poster Presentation
Social Capital and Social Control: Examining the Relationship Between Third Spaces and Violent Crime
Faculty Mentors: Maria Chávez, Political Science; Fred Hardyway, History
Major: Political Science
This study is quantitative research about the relationship between third spaces as defined by Ray Oldenburg and violent crime rates in the U.S. through the lens of Social Capital theory.
Poster Presentation
What Role Does Negative Partisanship Play in Shaping Voting Behavior?
Faculty Mentors: Maria Chávez, Political Science; Fred Hardyway, History
Major: Political Science
This is a literature review aimed around negative partisanship, and what drives one person to choose a Democrat vote over a Republican vote, and vice-versa. The review discusses theories and what current scholars believe is the case for this political divide, and whether individuals look into candidate qualities other than political beliefs.
Poster Presentation
How Politics Goes Viral: TikTok is Transforming Political Campaign Marketing and Youth Engagement with Politics
Faculty Mentors: Maria Chávez, Political Science; Fred Hardyway, History
Major: Political Science
This study examines how TikTok has transformed political campaign marketing and engagement among voters aged 18–29. Analyzing U.S. presidential campaigns from 2016 to 2024, it finds that TikTok’s short-form, interactive content increases accessibility and participation, while also raising concerns about misinformation, polarization, and the broader implications for democracy.
Poster Presentation
Higher Education, Latino Professionals, and the Implications for a Representative Democracy
Faculty Mentor: Maria Chávez
Major: Political Science
This project explores the relationship between higher education and how universities can contribute to the development of Latino Professionals in the United States amidst ongoing political attacks to higher education and DEI initiatives.
Poster Presentation
Latinos Fight Back; How Latinos are Responding toTargeted Anti-Immigration Policies Enacted by the Trump Administration’s Second Term in Office.
Faculty Mentor: Maria Chávez, Political Science
Major: Political Science
My project focuses on how Latinos in the US are responding to Trump’s anti-immigrant policies. There is reactive mobilization, showing that Latinos will push back when provoked through protests, Community task forces, and voting in the systems that keep us down.
Digital Poster Presentation
Framing the Dream: Executive Branch Discourse and Legal Protections for Unaccompanied Alien Children
Faculty Mentors: Maria Chávez, Political Science; Rebecca Wilkin, French & Francophone Studies
Major: Political Science and Global Studies with a concentration in Transnationalism and Consequences
My research project analyzes how executive branch discourse, including memos, executive orders, and actions from the President, DHS, and ORR, impacts access to adequate legal representation and language access for UACs in immigration court. It also examines how these policies shape funding for immigration legal services (including nonprofit and pro bono work), how funding constraints limit the number of available attorneys and interpreters, and how these factors lead to larger caseloads and diminished quality of representation.
Poster Presentation
Strong President, Strong Congress: The Balance of War-Making Authority in the Post 9/11 Era
Faculty Mentor: Maria Chávez, Political Science; Fred Hardyway, History
Major: Political Science
This project works to examine whether the executive branch’s use of military force from 2001 to 2025 has shifted the constitutional balance of war-making authority from Congress to the Executive branch. Utilizing Separation of Powers and Imperial Presidency theory, the project analyzes the level of congressional oversight and executive constraint.
Poster Presentation
Between Law and Politics: Mapping Theories of Judicial Behavior on the 2024 Roberts Court
Faculty Mentors: Maria Chávez, Political Science; Fred Hardyway, History
Major: Political Science
Judicial interpretative modes don’t operate independently of ideology; Supreme Court justices strategically deploy interpretive frameworks to advance ideological goals within institutional constraints. Interpretative modes will significantly correlate with ideological alignment in 2024 Docket decisions, indicating that interpretive frameworks function as strategic vehicles for ideological expression rather than independent legal constraints.
Poster Presentation